You'll love this simple watermelon salad recipe with cucumbers, feta, and mint, all covered in a zesty honey and lime dressing. A summer favorite, this refreshing watermelon feta salad is the perfect dish for a crowd.
Growing up by the shores of the Mediterranean, my summers in Port Said, Egypt consisted of two things: the beach and watermelons. I remember spending long days on the sunny beach with my favorite snack in hand: slices of watermelon topped with crumbles of creamy feta.
I still love nothing more than the combination of salty feta over sweet, cool watermelon. And this watermelon salad with cucumbers, feta, and fresh herbs, is another level of delicious. I think of this watermelon feta salad as grown up version of my favorite snack, and the zesty honey-lime dressing sure brings everything together.
Every bite of this salad is as refreshing and packed with flavor as it looks. Try it once, and you'll have it all season long!
Watermelon salad recipe ingredients
This summer salad is the perfect combination of flavors. Juicy, fresh watermelon goes well with cool cucumbers, fresh herbs, and the rest of the savory ingredients in this salad. It's the perfect balance of sweet and salty. Here are the fresh ingredients you need and some notes on how to prepare them:
- Watermelon. You can use 1 small watermelon or ½ a large watermelon. You'll need to peel and cut the watermelon into cubes (see tips for how to cut a watermelon in my easy tutorial), but you can also use a melon baller, if you're after a fancier look.
- English cucumber or hot house cucumber. English cucumbers are sweeter and their skin is not took thick or waxy, so you don't need to peel them. If you end up using American slicing cucumbers, you'll want to peel and seed the cucumbers before slicing.
- Mint and basil leaves. I used a good amount of herbs here, about 1 cup packed of each (or 15 leaves of mint and 15 leaves of fresh basil), roughly chopped or torn. Trust me, you need the punch of freshness from these herbs!
- Creamy feta cheese. You'll need about ½ cup or more of creamy crumbled feta. I usually start with a small block of feta packed in the brine, and I don't mind crumbling it myself. Feta packed in the brine is more creamy and not as salty as dry, already crumbled feta (besides I always keep a block of feta on hand in case the mood strikes for a delicious baked feta appetizer).
Dressing for watermelon feta salad
With juicy watermelons and cucumber, you may think the dressing is unnecessary. While this watermelon and feta salad is delicious without a dressing, a simple and bright dressing like I use here does bring it together and enhances the flavor. You only need 4 ingredients for the honey-lime dressing:
- Honey. I used 2 tablespoons of our Greek honey from Crete, the thyme and wild
- Lime juice. You can use lemon juice if that's what you have on hand
- Extra virgin olive oil. I recommend 2 tablespoons of our Greek Early Harvest EVOO or our fruity Spanish Hojiblanca EVOO for this salad.
- Kosher salt. Just a pinch is all you need here to help draw out some of the delicious juices in the cubed cucumber and watermelons.
A few tips for how to make watermelon salad
To make this salad, you just add your watermelon cubes, cucumber, torn fresh herbs in a large salad bowl or platter. Pour the honey-lime dressing on top, then gently toss to combine. Finally, crumble your feta cheese and sprinkle it all over the salad.
Keep in mind that soon after watermelons are cut and dressed, the liquid slowly seeps out of the flesh, and along with it, the sweet flavor you associate with watermelon. So, this watermelon salad with cucumber is best prepared and enjoyed on the same day. But you can make the dressing up to 3 days in advance and keep it in a mason jar in the fridge.
Variations
You can change up this Mediterranean watermelon salad to your liking. In addition to cucumbers, feta, and fresh herbs, here are a few more ingredients that go well with watermelon:
- Shallots or red onions. Thinly sliced shallots will add a little punch.
- Avocado. Dice up a creamy avocado to add a little indulgence and fat to this salad.
- Hot peppers. You can slice up some jalapeno rings for added crunch and heat.
- Red pepper flakes such as Aleppo-Style pepper. I love Aleppo-style pepper over watermelons and over mangos, it is not too spicy but adds enough of a kick with hints of sweetness. I highly recommend it!
Leftovers
We don't typically have much left of this refreshing salad, but you can keep leftover watermelon cucumber salad in the fridge in a tightly-closed glass container for up to 2 days. Drain excess liquid and test the salad before serving though.
Serve this watermelon cucumber salad with
This is the quintessential summer salad to serve next to any of your grilled meats, chicken skewers, or even fish. Great for sandwich night next to salmon burgers or even shawarma. And it's a good change from pasta salad (or in addition to) for a picnic.
More recipes and salads with fresh fruit
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Mediterranean Watermelon Salad Recipe with Feta and Cucumber
Ingredients
For the Honey-Lime Dressing
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 to 2 tablespoon quality extra virgin olive oil I used Greek Early Harvest
- pinch of salt
For the Watermelon Salad
- ½ watermelon peeled, cut into cubes
- 1 English or Hot House cucumber, cubed (about 2 cupfuls of cubed cucumbers)
- 15 fresh mint leaves chopped
- 15 fresh basil leaves chopped
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese more to your liking
Instructions
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, lime juice, olive oil and pinch of salt. Set aside for a moment.
- Make the Salad. In a large bowl or serving platter with sides, combine the watermelon, cucumbers, and fresh herbs.
- Top the watermelon salad with the dressing and gently toss to combine. Top with the feta cheese and serve!
Video
Notes
- Variations: you can add shallots or red onions, avocado cubes, or hot peppers. You can also season the salad with a dash of Aleppo-style pepper flakes which adds a little bit of heat with sweet undertones.
- Tips for Leftovers: Because this is a super watery salad, with watermelon and cucumber being the star ingredients, it is best to finish it on the same day you prepare it. However, if you have some leftovers, you can store in a tight-lid glass container for a night or two (test before serving.)
- Visit Our Shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils and spices!
Nutrition
*This post has been recently updated with new information and media for readers' benefit.
I made this salad today and it was amazing! I told my husband of 41 years if we weren't married he would be proposing after he tasted this salad. He agreed!
Lol! Thanks, Jean!
What a wonderful salad! I only made 1/2 as there was only 4 of us, Really enjoyed by all us. I rarely pin recipes, but I pinned this one. So refreshing! Thanks!
I made this watermelon salad and it was absolutely delicious!! The watermelon and the honey and that burst of lime was so good! I'll make this again soon!
Awesome! Thanks, Sandy!
Made this for a potluck with some of my friends and it was a huge hit! Perfect and refreshing for the hot weather.
LOVE this salad! It is my new go-to when I'm to bring something to gatherings. It's easy, healthy, yummy, and looks so pretty, too.
Yay! Thanks so much!
Made this with chicken souvlaki, homemade pita and tzatziki. This was a major flavor party! Thank you, Suzy. Your recipes and instructions are spot on!
Delicious everyone loves it.
So glad to hear! Thanks, Mike!
I prepped this salad (without dressing) 1 hour before serving, and I added the dressing at the last minute. Loved the dressing with the watermelon. However, I would make this recipe again only if I were putting the cubes of melon and cuke on a person's plate just before he ate it. In no time flat, the serving bowl was half filled with "soup", which diluted the dressing and made the whole presentation pretty iffy. Sorry I took it to the party!
This recipe was fantastic!!! The fresh herbs brighten this up SOOO much. The ingredients all work perfectly together. Can't wait to make it again!
Awesome! Thanks, Joan!
Suzy,
Your recipes are just amazing, tasty, innovative and delicious!
Thanks so much
X
You're very sweet, Daphne! Thank you!
This is Wonderful! Fresh mint from the garden & smells so good. Kids loved it & wanted it again. Everything just goes together & very flavourable . Happy I had everything on hand. Thanks again for another great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Stephanie!
What would I replace if I don’t like fresh mint and my BF does not like fresh basil? I love everything else!
Thank you
Hi, Wendy. You can try just leaving the herbs out. It won’t be the same as far as the flavor profile, but it will still be tasty and refreshing.
Love this salad! I added a bit more mint & basil and also some diced red onion. Yum!
Thanks for sharing, Jennifer!
So, I have made this salad for a number of dinner parties ALWAYS a huge hit. It's also one of my husbands and I faves.
It's quick and so easy to put together. The combination of sweet, salty, Feta and the fresh herbs MMMMMMMMM.
Thanks, Gordon!
Watermelon salad with Feta???.......... a " Mediterranean" dish??? PLEASE give us Greeks a LITTLE Credit. I had this at my Yia-yia's house in the 1950's. It did not make the Culinary fashion show that passes for our food obsessed culture until the 1990's. There are all these traditional GREEK recipes on your site and elsewhere and suddenly POOF!!!
they are "Mediterranean".
The Greeks had the FIRST unified cuisine in the Mediterranean Basin and their food's history reflects that origin.
PLEASE GIVE THE CREDIT WE ARE DUE. Labelling soemthing as "Mediterranean" suddenly does not make it NOT Greek.
Paul in NY
Hey Paul, thank you for stopping in and for sharing. I will respectfully share that I myself grew up on the Mediterranean in Port Said, Egypt. And we ate watermelons and feta all summer long. I love Greek food and many of my friends are Greek. But let us remember that the sunny Mediterranean encompasses several countries from South of Europe to North Africa and the Middle East. And while we have some distinct differences, we also have a lot in common...we share many flavors and we share a heart that is hospitable and generous. That is the spirit of this site. Labeling this salad Mediterranean does not mean it is not Greek, but it also does not mean it is not Egyptian or even Spanish. This is a simple salad that likely has variations throughout the Mediterranean. How lovely it is that we can share and celebrate the beautiful Mediterranean.
Yummy. Easy to make and it's light and refreshing. We loved it and I was asked for the recipe by several guests, who I sent the link to!
Awesome! Thanks, Patti!
Loved this. It was refreshing with lots of flavor. I probably got the ratios wrong for the honey dressing but it was a little sweet for our taste so we used a balsamic vinaigrette.
Another of your recipes that we will be having again, and trying two more tonight!
Awesome! Thanks, Andy!
I was looking for a good Watermelon Feta Salad recipe, and this was by far the best one I found. The flavors melded perfectly and the salad was delicious! The cucumbers were a really nice addition, and pairing the fresh basil with the mint was a great idea!
Thank you so much!
This is totally amazing my family loved this recipe. I have a question… How would this taste with blue cheese instead of feta?
Hi, Andrea! I have never tried those together before, so I can't really give you any guidance here. Stop back to let us know your thoughts if you give it a try!
This was astoundingly good. I made one alteration and that was to mince shallots (because I adore shallots) and add them to the lime juice. I let that sit just lime and shallot for about an hour and added the rest of the ingredients. Use an olive oil you love the flavor of - I used a sharper, greener EVO because the astringency goes nicely with the sweet of the watermelon and the creaminess of of the feta. I will make this again and again - so good. This whole website actually is a fave - I have never once followed a recipe off of here and had it less than totally delicious.
Thank you for sharing, Lola!
I had this salad at a family bbq... loved it... but I'm not a fan of mint... does it really need it? I would be happy with just the fresh basil... any other herb suggestions?
You can omit the mint, Debra, and just use basil if you enjoy it.